[...] beneath the mockery lies a real rebellious streak that has coursed through Vevcani for decades and spawned violent protests, diplomatic incidents and run-ins with the law.
The sharp satire leaves nothing untouched, targeting the national leadership, politics, religion and social issues.
Ethnic tension is never far from the surface in Macedonia, where the mostly Muslim ethnic Albanian minority fought a brief armed uprising against the government in 2001, seeking greater rights.
Last month, Vevcani threatened to stop paying the state-run electricity company over delays by engineers in repairing a fault that had knocked out power to hundreds of homes.
A government plan in the late 1980s to have the village share water from its wells with a neighboring village sparked outrage, with locals heading en masse to Skopje for rowdy protests — an action almost unheard of during communist times.
The villagers first attracted international attention when the government sent special police units to suppress the 1987 protests and dismantle barricades set up over the water dispute.
Last year, the festival sparked violent protests among the country's Muslim minority over costumes mocking the all-encompassing burqa for Muslim women.
Macedonia has been at odds with Greece for two decades over the former Yugoslav state's name, with Athens contending that the name implies territorial intentions against its own northern province of Macedonia.
The sharp satire leaves nothing untouched, targeting the national leadership, politics, religion and social issues.
Ethnic tension is never far from the surface in Macedonia, where the mostly Muslim ethnic Albanian minority fought a brief armed uprising against the government in 2001, seeking greater rights.
Last month, Vevcani threatened to stop paying the state-run electricity company over delays by engineers in repairing a fault that had knocked out power to hundreds of homes.
A government plan in the late 1980s to have the village share water from its wells with a neighboring village sparked outrage, with locals heading en masse to Skopje for rowdy protests — an action almost unheard of during communist times.
The villagers first attracted international attention when the government sent special police units to suppress the 1987 protests and dismantle barricades set up over the water dispute.
Last year, the festival sparked violent protests among the country's Muslim minority over costumes mocking the all-encompassing burqa for Muslim women.
Macedonia has been at odds with Greece for two decades over the former Yugoslav state's name, with Athens contending that the name implies territorial intentions against its own northern province of Macedonia.
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